This Order Chapter, which serves as the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) plan, provides DOJ policy on Reemployment of Retirees without Penalty to Meet Exceptional Employment Needs, consistent with 5 CFR Part 553. The Department may seek Office of Personnel Management (OPM) approval, on a case-by-case basis, of exceptions to the salary offset provisions in 5 U.S.C. § § 8344 and 8468 that are applicable to reemployed civilian retirees under the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employees Retirement System.

The Assistant Attorney General for Administration (AAG/A) is the headquarters official with delegated authority to request OPM approval to waive the salary offset provisions for annuitants. Waivers are appropriate to help the Department meet temporary hiring needs; e.g., emergency hiring needs; exceptional difficulty in recruiting or retaining qualified candidates for a particular position; or other unusual circumstances.

A waiver to the salary offset provisions applies only to the particular individual for whom it was authorized while serving in the position for which recruited/retained.

A Component Head or his or her designee will submit waiver requests to the AAG/A through the Justice Management Division (JMD) Human Resources (HR) and should:

Submit requests for an extension to the waiver of the salary offset provisions to AAG/A through JMD HR, at least 90 days prior to the expiration of the waiver, ensuring ample time for review by JMD HR and approval by OPM. The request should contain the reason for the extension, as well as the information listed in the OPM Questions and Answers on the Reemployment of Civilian Retirees to Meet Exceptional Employment Needs justifying the initial request. Waiver requests must be submitted to OPM prior to the expiration of the current waiver.

Submit “Need to Retain a Particular Individual” request before the individual leaves employment at the Department with sufficient time to review by JMD HR (at least 60 days prior to the departure date of the employee).